


A Normal Life

by lizzycm



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, One Shot, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27979650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzycm/pseuds/lizzycm
Summary: Bucky and Sam live a normal life after retiring from the Avengers.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 51





	A Normal Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Queenofcolors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenofcolors/gifts).



> Well, Merry Christmas! One eye is still kinda suffering, but I managed to get this out because when I'm bored I don't really have a sense of self restraint. I know you asked for smut, but I'm lowkey bad at it, so enjoy this gratuitous fluff instead.

And there it was - Bucky’s favorite sound all day. The sound of Sam’s keys in the front door as he came home from work. Bucky pushed himself up from his recliner (Sam liked to call him an old man, but the chair was  _ comfortable _ ) as Sam let himself in.

“How was work, babe?” Bucky asked as he walked up to his husband - even five years after their, he couldn’t quite believe it. He had a  _ husband _ , one who loved and doted on him and treated him like the sun. One who kissed him and had wonderful sex with him and made him feel like maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with him after all.

Sam sighed. “Same old, same old. You know how it is.” Bucky’s husband had a job as a psychologist specializing in people suffering from PTSD. It was a job that Sam hadn’t dreamed of, but had realized he loved and had a talent for. Of course, given the nature of his occupation, there were bound to be rough days.

Bucky went up to his husband and planted a little kiss on Sam’s lips. He smiled at his spouse as he took a step away, marveling at this new life they had created for themselves. At first, Bucky had been apprehensive about retiring from the superhero life. But every day that passed without a world-ending catastrophe had made him more and more certain that he and Sam had made the right decision.

And there was another thing, too, that proved their choice was the correct one, and she was currently running into the room at top speed.

“Daddy!” Rebecca shouted, barrelling into Sam and wrapping her arms around his legs. Sam nearly fell over, steadying himself against the wall behind him. Bucky sighed.

“Rebecca,” Bucky reminded his daughter, “remember not to run so fast inside.”

Rebecca groaned, gripping Sam’s legs even tighter. The three-year-old seemed to have more energy than either of them at any given time, always moving and running and making noise and just generally refusing to be still or quiet.

Sam shook off Rebecca’s death grip on his legs, bending down so he could look their daughter in the eyes. “Hey,” he said, “your dad’s right, Becca. You could hurt somebody.” And there was Sam, who always managed to be calm even when Rebecca was at her most chaotic.

Rebecca glanced down at her feet, currently with no shoes, only a pair of mismatched socks. “Alright.” Sam glanced up at Bucky, who smirked, knowing that the rule would not be obeyed for long. The joys of raising a toddler.

Hey!” Sam suddenly said, smiling as he looked back to Rebecca. “Who’s ready to eat?”

“Me!” Rebecca shouted, turning and promptly running into the kitchen, chattering about what they were going to cook tonight. Neither Sam nor Bucky had much love for cooking, even though both were relatively decent at it, so they often made dinner as a family, save for the rare nights when they ordered out.

Sam pushed himself to his feet, and Bucky recognized the dark look in his husband’s eyes. He put a hand on Sam’s shoulder, caressing the soft skin at his neck. “What happened?” he asked. His husband had always dreamed of being able to work as a psychologist, but that didn’t mean there weren’t days when the job treated him horribly. As a psychologist, your patients tell you things, and sometimes, your patients will even do things, and you have to deal with that on a regular basis.

Sam sighed. “One of my patients had a setback,” he said, turning so that he could look at Bucky fully. “She recently tried to start shaving again.” He glanced down at the carpet, taking in a shaky breath. “It looked like she had just walked off a battlefield.”

Bucky winced, remembering Sam voicing how proud he was of that same patient just a few nights ago. Proud that she felt brave enough to attempt to shave her legs again. Mental health was a tricky thing, and setbacks unfortunately weren’t uncommon - Bucky knew that better than anyone. How many times had he curled into Sam late at night, after being woken by nightmares of his own hands doing terrible things against his will?

“What about you?” Sam asked, reaching out his hand to hold the one Bucky was caressing his face with.

Bucky shrugged. “I’m alright.”

Sam pressed a long kiss against Bucky’s cheek, giving him a small smile. “Good,” he said, “cause I think Becca’s gonna burn the house down if we don’t get in there soon.”

Sam moved to walk towards the kitchen, but Bucky grabbed his husband’s hand. Sam turned around, giving Bucky a quizzical look, and Bucky pulled Sam in for a kiss, on the lips this time. Sam grunted as he moved his hands to Bucky’s hair, and Bucky deepened the kiss, moving Sam against the nearby wall, moving his hands to Sam’s waist.

When they broke the kiss, both were panting for air. “What was that about?” Sam whispered.

It was Bucky’s turn to give his husband a smile. “I love you so much.”

  
  


Bucky stepped out of the warm stream of water from the shower, turning off the faucet as he wrapped a towel around his lower half, using a second towel to dry off his dripping hair. Their bathroom was adjacent to the master bedroom, so Bucky didn’t feel awkward about being in just his towel as he went to rummage through his drawers. He pulled on a pair of pajama pants and a gray T-shirt before laying down on the bed, resting his head against Sam’s pillow.

He remembered when he had told Sam he loved him. It had been in the middle of a firefight, and the two had been hiding in an abandoned building, trying to plan out their next move. And Bucky had thought that they were going to die, and had just said the thought that had been rattling through his mind, “I love you, Sam.” And Sam had looked at him like he was crazy.

And then Sam had kissed him, and it had been just as wonderful as Bucky had imagined. 

Speaking of Sam…

Bucky glanced towards his bedroom door. He could hear his spouse down the hall, accompanied by Rebecca’s high-pitched voice. She should have been asleep by now. Bucky sighed, pushing himself up from the bed and making his way towards his daughter’s bedroom.

“No!” Rebecca was shouting as Bucky stepped into the room.

Bucky shot Sam a glance. “What’s happening?”

“She says she’s not going to bed tonight,” Sam replied.

Rebecca crossed her arms. “I’m not!”

Bucky turned to face his daughter. She didn’t look like either of them, but Bucky had always thought that she had Sam’s eyes. Not in color, but in intensity. In power. “Why?” Bucky asked.

Rebecca  _ hmph _ ed. “Morgan gets to stay up till  _ ten o’clock _ ,” she complained. “It’s not fair.”

It was Sam’s turn to shoot Bucky a glance. “Stark’s kid?” he questioned.

“Yep,” Bucky responded, before looking back to Rebecca. “Morgan is older than you, Becca,” he tried.

“It’s not fair!” Rebecca shouted again, louder this time.

“Who does get that from?” Sam muttered, and Bucky shrugged.

“Probably from her Uncle Steve,” he answered, only half-joking. Everyone said that there was always the one relative who was a bad influence on the kids. But thinking about his adopted brother gave Bucky an idea, and judging by the way Sam’s eyes had widened, Bucky’s husband had the same idea.

“I think I have a plan,” Sam said. He bent over their daughter, so they could see each other eye-to-eye, and Bucky followed suit. “You know, Becca,” Sam started, “Uncle Steve goes to bed even earlier than you do.”

Rebecca shot her dads a skeptical glance. “I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true, Becca,” Bucky added in. “I’ve seen him.”

Rebecca considered this for a moment, and Bucky actually dared to hope that they might have succeeded in convincing her to go to bed. And then, Rebecca stamped her foot on the carpet. “I’m still not going to bed!” she declared.

The two husbands shared an exasperated look between them, before turning their attention back to their daughter. “What are you even going to do if you stay up late, Becca?” Bucky asked half-heartedly.

This actually stopped Rebecca, and for a moment she only stared at them, and Bucky felt a smile creeping across his face. “I’ll go to bed,” she said finally. Sam chuckled, and Bucky allowed the grin to take full form. Sam was to one who picked Rebecca up, setting her down in her toddler-sized bed while Bucky followed, so they were both hovering over her.

“Can you tell me a story?” Rebecca requested, eyes drooping downwards now that she was snuggled under her blankets.

“Which one?” Bucky asked.

“One about the Avengers,” Rebecca replied. That was always it. She always wanted to know about the Avengers, about the legendary team that saved the world. About how her parents met, but more about the fighting than the epic romance. She wanted to know about the epic battles. The worlds that were saved. And so the two sat down on the end of her bed, and they told her a story.

  
  


Bucky and Sam laid across from one another in their own bedroom, in the darkness and comfort of the other’s breathing. “I love you so much, babe,” Bucky whispered.

Bucky heard rather than saw Sam nod. “I love you, too.”

Bucky moved forwards, pressing his lips against his husband’s. Sam reciprocated the kiss, and that was how they fell asleep. Lying there, wrapped up in the other’s warmth.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, Merry Christmas! And hope 2021 is a lot better for everyone


End file.
